Munich, stability at the foothills of the Alps

At the gateway to the Bavarian Alps, Munich is Germany's third largest city with 1.6 million inhabitants in 2019, and more than 2.3 million including its urban area. Located in southern Bavaria, the city enjoys a privileged location, being close to the Austrian, Swiss and Czech borders. 

It is the richest city of the country and its prosperity is partly due to the many companies that have established their headquarters there, especially after the Second World War, when many companies left Berlin or East Germany to settle in the Bavarian capital. 

Among the companies present today are the famous German automotive industry leader, the BMW Group, the Siemens Energy Group, banking companies such as Allianz and subsidiaries of multinational companies such as Amazon.de, McDonald's Deutschland, Burger King Deutschland and Yahoo! Deutschland GmbH.

Munich's economy is therefore very much focused on industrial activity, especially the automotive and aerospace industries. It is also known for its activities in the fields of scientific research, biotechnology and finance, as the country's second largest financial centre after Frankfurt.

Being a major business centre, the city is also a popular destination for luxury shopping and the traditional gateway to Bavaria and its castles. Tourism is therefore a key sector of Munich's economy, not least through its famous Oktoberfest beer festival, which takes place from late September to early October and attracts around six million visitors every year.

In 2018, there were 8,265,994 arrivals (national and international), an increase of +6.5% over the previous year (data from the Munich Tourist Office). A total of 17,089,892 overnight stays were made, an increase of +11.9%, i.e. a faster growth than that of arrivals, indicating an increase in tourist stays.

The destination hosts as much for its annual festival as for...